Essex girl

Essex girl

"Essex girl" is a pejorative term used in the United Kingdom, to imply someone is a stereotypically promiscuous, blonde, unintelligent woman from Essex. It was most widely used and gained popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Its use has waned somewhat since the increase in popularity of the "chav" label. One of the main reasons for the origin of the term may be due to Essex's geographical proximity to London. Many Essex residents do come to London by train for the weekend out. It is mirrored in U.S. by the term Jersey Girl (or equally useful 'bridge-and-tunnel-crowd') with less emphasis on promiscuity.

Unlike the comparable "Essex man", which developed originally as a political term broadly describing aspirational working-class voters in the South and East of England who voted for Margaret Thatcher, "Essex girl" did not carry such explicit political connotations.

Image

The stereotypical image was formed as a variation of the dumb blonde/bimbo persona, with references to the Estuary English accent, white stiletto heels, peroxide blonde hair, promiscuity, loud verbal vulgarity, and to socialising at downmarket nightclubs in large groups.cite web| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,3604,446451,00.html| title=G2: Long live the Essex Girl| accessdate=2006-12-02| author=Germaine Greer]

"Time" magazine has written:

The term initially became synonymous with the lead characters of Sharon and Tracey in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather. These brash and uninhibited women had escaped working class backgrounds in London and moved to a large house in Chigwell.

The image has since been epitomised in celebrity culture with the likes of Denise Van Outen, Jodie Marsh and Chantelle Houghton all rising to fame predominantly with the help of their 'Essex Girl' image.

Essex girl jokes

Essex girl jokes are primarily variations of Blonde jokes though often more sexually explicit. In 2004, Bob Russell, the Liberal Democrat MP for the Colchester district of Essex appealed for debate in the House of Commons on the issue and encouraged a boycott of "The People" tabloid, which has printed several derogatory references to girls from Essex. cite web| url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=25373| title=MP urges boycott of The People over Essex Girl jokes| accessdate=2007-09-12| author=David Rose]

References

Further reading

*cite book|title=Jokes and Their Relation to Society|author=Christie Davies|date=1998|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|id=ISBN 3110161044|pages=186–189

ee also

*Chav
*Dumb blonde
*Valley girl
*Westie (person) (Australia/New Zealand)


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